RECAP: Denver 14 - New York 13

RECAP: Denver 14 - New York 13

The Denver Outlaws defeated the New York Lizards 14-13 in a tight contest on the campus of the University of Denver. The scorching 115-degree temperature kept the game interesting as the two teams played for the second week in a row. The Outlaws will now face the Rochester Rattlers in the 2014 MLL Championship Game, next Saturday, August 23, at 7 p.m. at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga. Veteran John Grant, Jr. gave the Outlaws the advantage with seven points in the game earning Coca Cola Player of the Game.

In a seeming continuation of last weekend’s overtime meeting between the two teams, the Outlaws and Lizards came out in the first quarter playing at a high physical level. With multiple turnovers and incredible saves by goalies Jesse Schwartzman and Drew Adams, only a handful of goals were made. Denver played with a vengeance, outscoring New York 4-3 in the first. Jeremy Sieverts, Drew Snider, Chris Bocklet and Zack Greer would score for Denver; Ned Crotty, Tommy Palasek and Max Seibald put the ball in the net for New York.

The second quarter only built off of the first, both teams playing in an extremely physical style, neither team willing to take any chances. Denver’s Grant, Jr. got things started in the second quarter, but New York’s Rob Pannell would quickly answer his goal. The two teams would battle it out, going back-and-forth with goals. The Lizards feared their defense would struggle after losing defensive midfielder Steve DeNapoli following a hard hit by the Outlaws’ Eric Law. However, fellow Lizards’ defensive midfielder Kevin Unterstein would score two consecutive goals to tie the game. Other second quarter goals were scored by New York’s Matt Gibson and Palasek, and by Denver’s Cam Holding and Law. Denver and New York would head into halftime tied at 8-8.

The Outlaws took an early lead in the third with goals by Grant and Bocklet. New York and Denver would score one after the other, with the Outlaws always staying one point ahead. Seibald, Grant and Pannell all tallied. 12 minutes into the quarter, John Austin would fire a ball past Schwartzman to tie the game. Both New York’s JoJo Marasco and Denver’s Bocklet found the back of the net, keeping the score even heading into the fourth.

New York and Denver entered the final quarter of the semifinal game tied 12-12. The Lizards looked to make a run for it, as Palasek broke the tie four minutes into the fourth. However Denver wasn’t ready to give up, and with goals by Snider and Sieverts, the Outlaws were able to run out the clock and win the game.

Denver will move on to the 2014 MLL Championship Game to face the Rochester Rattlers next Saturday, August 23 at 7 p.m., at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga. Tickets for the game start at only $20 and can be found
HERE.

Game Notes

- John Grant, Jr. named the Coca-Cola Player of the Game for his seven-point performance (4g, 3a) in the win over New York.

- Sellout crowd at the Outlaws’ home-away-from-home, with 2,488 fans in attendance.

- New York’s Greg Gurenlian with the advantage at the X going 17-31 against Denver’s Anthony Kelly (8-17) and Brent Hiken (6-14).

- Each team only served one minute for called penalties, both going 0-1 on the powerplay.